In NY, even if you were following the guidelines of the law it's very likely they would still arrest you, and possibly even end up getting charged and convicted. Public opinion in that area does not look favorably on the right to self-defense or using deadly force.

This is something a lot of people don't understand. You don't have to break the law to be arrested, charged and convicted.

In NY, even if you were following the guidelines of the law it's very likely they would still arrest you, and possible even end up getting charged and convicted. Public opinion in that area does not look favorably on the right to self-defense or using deadly force.

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no, lots of folks have used deadly force in NY to defend themselves or their homes and have not even been indicted for a crime.

no, lots of folks have used deadly force in NY to defend themselves or their homes and have not even been indicted for a crime.

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And a few have been.

Unless the other person is posing an absolutely clear and imminent danger, such that it's obvious someone has a very high probability of going to be killed, and they're already committing a serious crime on top of that, it's playing a crapshoot if you decide to stop them.

I wonder how many homeowners have simply placed a weapon in the dead hands of the intruder they killed to lessen the chances of getting into legal trouble, with things in the NY justice system being the way they are. They might have seen a dark colored object in the burglar's hands that resembled a gun, not extremely uncommon. These situations can happen extremely fast, and often it's happening in the darkness where the homeowner (in many cases elderly with not the best eyesight) can't see clearly.

We can clearly use force to defend ourselves or another from illegal violence , unless escape is possible. We are not required to attempt to escape if we are at home.

We can use force to detain someone that we witnessed commit a crime or we know for sure has committed a crime, so as to hold them for the police to come and formally arrest them.

Deadly force is more...iffy.

We cannot use deadly force to simply protect property, unless the suspect is carrying a weapon that we believe will be used against us to commit deadly harm.

But....it appears we can use deadly force to prevent a robbery at our home or place of business? This is where I dont fully understand.

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Ron, robbery is theft by means of force or the threat of force against a person. It is regarded as a “person crime”, not a “property crime”. This is why deadly physical force may be used against a person who is threatening to shoot you if you don’t give him the money, as opposed to someone who has broken into your parked, unoccupied car to steal to steal it or something inside it.

Ron, robbery is theft by means of force or the threat of force against a person. It is regarded as a “person crime”, not a “property crime”. This is why deadly physical force may be used against a person who is threatening to shoot you if you don’t give him the money, as opposed to someone who has broken into your parked, unoccupied car to steal to steal it or something inside it.

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so breaking into someone's home and trying to steal stuff is not "robbery"?

2. A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person
under circumstances specified in subdivision one unless:

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The actor reasonably believes that such other person is using or
about to use deadly physical force. Even in such case, however, the
actor may not use deadly physical force if he or she knows that with
complete personal safety, to oneself and others he or she may avoid the
necessity of so doing by retreating; except that the actor is under no
duty to retreat if he or she is:

----
He or she reasonably believes that such other person is committing
or attempting to commit a burglary, and the circumstances are such that
the use of deadly physical force is authorized by subdivision three of
section 35.20.

---
A person in possession or control of, or licensed or privileged to
be in, a dwelling or an occupied building, who reasonably believes that
another person is committing or attempting to commit a burglary of such
dwelling or building, may use deadly physical force upon such other
person when he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to
prevent or terminate the commission or attempted commission of such
burglary.

so i can shoot someone if they trespass in my home or my work with the intent to steal something and refuse to stop trying to steal stuff? even in NY?

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You don't know what the badguy's intent is. If he's merely tresspassing in your yard then unless he's posing a threat to you then you can't shoot him. However if he's in your home while you're inside then you have every right to assume he's there to harm you and your family.

huh.

but if someone trespasses, tries to steal stuff, and then drops the stuff and runs away, i can't shoot him just cause he is getting away.

so i can use deadly force to prevent a burglary but i cant use deadly force to stop him from running away with my stuff? i dont see the difference.

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If he's in your homr while you're in it, it'sa home invasion, not a burgalry. With a home invasion you have little to no escape routes and you are at the mercy of the invader. If he's running away, however, he is no longer posing a threat to you.

If he's in your homr while you're in it, it'sa home invasion, not a burgalry. With a home invasion you have little to no escape routes and you are at the mercy of the invader. If he's running away, however, he is no longer posing a threat to you.